My forwarding experience with HopShopGo

LFreddies on 26/10/2022 - 20:50
Last edited 05/11/2022 - 18:40

Hopshopgo charges me 115 USD shipping cost for 225.9 USD clothes without a promotion code.

The $15 code is not really worth it even for new customers. I think the most debatable part is their Surcharge and the way they calculate the shipping cost (higher one of either size or weight)

I did a bit research about their GST charge. On their website (https://secure.hopshopgo.com/terms), they claim their ABN is

"comGateway Australia Pty Limited ABN 26 600 205 310 acts as trustee for comGateway (s) Pte Ltd."

If you look up this ABN at https://abr.business.gov.au/Search/Run, it says

The number entered is not a valid ABN
The number entered (26600205310) is not a valid ABN. See format of the ABN for more information.

However, with the same business name, I am able to locate 25 600 205 310
And its status is as follows:

ABN detailshelp
Entity name: COMGATEWAY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD
ABN status: Cancelled from 20 Nov 2020
Entity type: Australian Private Company
Goods & Services Tax (GST): Not currently registered for GST
Main business location: 0501

Summary of Charges

International Shipping
$ 48.00
Surcharge
$ 26.36
Insurance
$ 4.50
Repack Fee
$ 5.00
Total Duties & Taxes
$ 31.10
Promo Code (WELCOME15HSG)
-$15.00
Total
$99.96

Repackaging costs me 5 USD, otherwise they will charge me based on the size of the original box from the vendor.

Actual weight (kg)
3
Package dimensions (cm)
45.50 x 35.50 x 35.00
Volumetric weight (kg)
11.31
Shipping weight before repack (kg)
11.5
Shipping weight after repack (kg)
3.5
You'll save
$ 104.50

There is only one available payment option - PayPal.

Be aware of its default option of charging you AUD! My Citi bank has a better better ratio which is around A$10 cheaper.

I've searched the whole forum before making my post and the earliest one I could find was like half a year ago.

Long story short, I'm planning to buy some clothes from Nautica US which are both exclusive and cheaper than its Australian branch (its US head quarter's clothes seem to have an overall better quality control as well per my own shopping experience).

But after reading so many reviews, I hesitate to decide which service provider I should go with, and which would be more economical in case there are several evenly solid choices?

I'm not buying very bulky clothes, so I guess the parcel won't be that heavy (around 4 x pants, 1 x top and 1 x belt). The total value is around USD $200. I wonder how much will the shipping, service and GST cost in total per your experience?

So far I have :

  1. searched UStoOZ and their "official" Twitter account has been suspended which sounds like a huge red flag.

  2. registered an account on Hop Shop Go via Paypal as they have a USD15 off offer but I wouldn't mind making a new account if someone here has a referral link though.

Plus, for people who are curious about the conversation cost between AUD and USD, I'm using a multi-currency Citi Bank account and the rate is pretty good with no extra cost, compared with the "big four". I found ANZ very greedy on this matter..

Thanks everyone in advance.

Fashion & Apparel

Comments

  • GourmetFoodie on 26/10/2022 - 21:52

    Following

    • Freddies on 05/11/2022 - 18:51

      I have updated the whole post with all my findings and experience.

  • cashless on 26/10/2022 - 23:04

    I did a very quick search and found this.
    In this case case it was for a watch, but there appears to be a few recommendations about forwarders

    • Freddies on 27/10/2022 - 00:24

      Thanks. But I found the pricing at https://www.shopandship.com/ is a bit confusing. Also, they seem not to state whether they have a tax-free address in the US.
      Other ones seem already familiar but there isn't much discussion though.

  • sumyungguy on 26/10/2022 - 23:11
    +2

    Have used MyUS.com but not since COVID which has increased freight rates significantly.

    • Freddies on 27/10/2022 - 00:20

      I checked their rate and it seems like so.

  • w0mbat on 27/10/2022 - 11:42

    Choice have this listing, bit old but updated this year.
    Hope it's some help

    • Freddies on 27/10/2022 - 23:41

      I did check it, but as you mentioned, it's a bit old especially the part about ustooz. I mean, their Twitter account is even suspended but still listed on their website, which indicates low effort of maintenance. I also heard the owner is not Australian any more.

  • myhotsti on 27/10/2022 - 12:13
    +1

    UstoOz were good when the original owner (Australian lady) was there. She was awesome, but sold the business about 2 years ago. Parcel I had sent approx 18months ago was almost double what I had anticipated. This may have been due to Covid factors, but I received someone elses parcel initially (was supposed to go to someone in South Australia, I'm in ACT) and they got mine, so there was an extra couple of weeks for no reason. Also mine was a substantial parcel id been corresponding with them for at least a month, many consolidations, so pretty major stuff up in my eyes. Also a couple of my smaller parcels weren't included, even though I did it all up on a spreadsheet, so super easy me doing their work for them. Theyre probably still sitting there lol, plus I'm due a credit for paying to send the SA parcel on to the other customer. My parcel cost me $460 shipping, instead of what I anticipated should have been around $200-$240. I was over the whole situation at the time.
    Previously I used shippito, 6-7 years ago. I've read reviews online where people have had issues with them in the meantime, but I'm planning on going back to them. I usually get 1 or 2 shipments per year.
    Your situation sounds pretty straightforward since there are no consolidations involved, nor storage, so should be easier to compare prices between companies, and less likelihood of any human error stuffups. But I definitely would not recommend UStoOz.

  • myhotsti on 27/10/2022 - 12:22

    In case anyone else reading this is looking for recommendations for consolidations and cheaper shipping would definitely recommend Shipporter.com for seafreight. Sent some Macy's bedding and subaru car parts and heaps of really good quality cheap branded clothing from ebay & retail stores back in 2014 (before that Hardly Normal idiot ruined everything) and service was outstanding, pricing was excellent…I need to do that again lol if only the US dollar would go back to parity.

    • Freddies on 27/10/2022 - 23:43

      So your experience about Shipporter was from 2014, 8 years ago?

  • omguleh on 27/10/2022 - 23:30

    Comgateway is who I’ve always used in the past.

    • Freddies on 28/10/2022 - 00:13

      I chose HopShopGo this time and let's see how it goes, and it's also the same brand as what you mentioned.

      • GourmetFoodie on 28/10/2022 - 08:00

        Let us know how it goes. I’d be interested in what the shipping costs you roughly.

        • Freddies on 28/10/2022 - 15:23

          Sure thing. I will post the process here with breakdowns (if applicable).

          I just had a live chat with their support and was told $15 off will be applied to new users for their international shipping cost. Let's see how it goes.

          • GourmetFoodie on 28/10/2022 - 17:18

            @Freddies: Thanks mate. That would be awesome and thanks for the info on the discount for new users!

            • Freddies on 05/11/2022 - 17:50

              @GourmetFoodie: In short, the total shipping cost will be 115 USD (without promotion code) for 3.5kg 225.9USD clothes.
              I doubt it is really worth it.

              I will update my whole post according later if I can still edit.

            • Freddies on 05/11/2022 - 17:58

              @GourmetFoodie: I have updated my original post with details. I think for companies which use the bigger option of size and weight, it is not a good idea to choose them.

              • sumyungguy on 05/11/2022 - 18:40
                +1

                @Freddies: MyUS cheapest option A$137.70 via USPS/Australia Post … plus GST.

                • Freddies on 05/11/2022 - 18:44

                  @sumyungguy: Did you do a calculation based on my case?

                  • sumyungguy on 05/11/2022 - 19:48

                    @Freddies: Yes - MyUS calculates on dead weight. So I entered 3.5kg. Is that dead or volumetric?

                    • Freddies on 05/11/2022 - 20:17

                      @sumyungguy: Lol Hopshopgo used 11.5kg as default per the size of original parcal so I had to pay $5 for repackaging
                      So Myus is even more exprensive than this? Holy shit

                      • GourmetFoodie on 05/11/2022 - 20:44

                        @Freddies: Wow I just saw how much you said the shipping we be. Circa $100 usd for $200 of clothes…wow that sucks.

                        • Freddies on 05/11/2022 - 20:58
                          +1

                          @GourmetFoodie: 100 USD is already the "discounted" price - or you pay 115 USD
                          Plus, their ABN on their website is fake/invalid. No idea if they actually pay GST to ATO and if they don't pay ATO, that's 31.1 USD free money for them

                          • sumyungguy on 05/11/2022 - 21:27
                            +1

                            @Freddies: MyUS is cheaper I think…

                            • Freddies on 05/11/2022 - 21:29

                              @sumyungguy: Of course. 100 USD is A$156

                              • sumyungguy on 05/11/2022 - 21:36
                                +1

                                @Freddies: In the good old days, pre-pandemic, when we weren't charged GST for overseas purchases - the US freight forwarders worked well for consumer goods. I'd suggest now that we can access Amazon's freight consolidations from the USA and UK that's the most economical way to import stuff from abroad.

                                • Freddies on 05/11/2022 - 21:49
                                  +1

                                  @sumyungguy:

                                  In the good old days, pre-pandemic, when we weren't charged GST for overseas purchases - the US freight forwarders worked well for consumer goods.

                                  If only forwarding comapnies are at least honest towards ATO? But I highly doubt it after checking HopShopGo, aka Comgateway's website. The ABN 26 600 205 310 they list there (https://secure.hopshopgo.com/terms) is clearly invalid and even the previous one 25 600 205 310 they used didn't register for GST either.

                                  I'd suggest now that we can access Amazon's freight consolidations from the USA and UK that's the most economical way to import stuff from abroad.

                                  Amazon AU with prime membership in theory works better for sure, but the downside is that not everying you wanna buy is listed on Amazon and/or the prices for wanted products can be indeed much more expensive and if you add up all increased amount together, it can be the same as Myus's cost - but apparently, HopShopGo's pricing has reached a new ridiculous level

                                  What else are worth mentioning:

                                  • HopShopGo/Comgateway has a partnership with PayPal and you can only pay via Paypal
                                  • Using PayPal's default currency conversation for 100 USD will cost you around A$165
                                  • HopShop can benefit from PayPal's currency conversation/referral programme on top of their surchage and pre-charged GST
                                  • GourmetFoodie on 06/11/2022 - 09:43

                                    @Freddies: Wow hop shop go is such a scam! Thanks for sharing all this info. It’s depressing though. May as well jump on a plane and get a holiday too at these rates!

                                    • Freddies on 06/11/2022 - 12:06
                                      +1

                                      @GourmetFoodie: I hope my trial is worth for anyone who wants to try a forwaring service

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